0:07 This is The GPL Podcast, part of the Pulltab Sports family. 0:16 You know, I think there is some shenanigans happening in the goalie community. 0:20 Are you gonna speak on that? 0:21 In the goalie community, oh, a former goalie? 0:24 You know, I gotta ride with Goalie Nation, but. 0:30 Okay, we gotta complete the same question. 0:33 Duck, duck. 0:36 Goofs. 0:36 Oh, it ain't gray duck, it's goofs. 0:44 But the Big Ten is a bad conference. 0:46 That's a joke. 0:47 If this gets clipped, that's a joke. 0:48 Oh, no, no, no. 0:51 Definitely cooking that one now. 0:55 Now, here's Jupiter and Vegoe. 1:04 Good evening and welcome to The GPL Podcast, episode number 244. 1:12 Well beings, we're kind of going in a different direction tonight, not talking hockey right off the bat. 1:19 Yeah, we've got Derek Burns from Dinkytown Athletes joining us tonight to talk all things NIL. 1:25 They've had a big, big month so far with a couple special announcements that they've been able to work out, and it's exciting time for University of Minnesota Athletics. 1:36 Well, let's bring them in. 1:38 Let's bring them right in. 1:40 And Derek Burns from, wait, let's press the right button. 1:44 There we go. 1:45 There he is from Dinkytown Athletes. 1:47 Hey guys. 1:48 Nice to finally meet you, Derek. 1:51 Very good to meet you. 1:52 Good to be virtually face to face. 1:55 What's in the face of the many, many emails. 1:57 Appreciate the support, guys. 1:59 Well, we did a special kind of thing together this summer when hockey came on board, and it was very successful. 2:06 The GPL'ers really came through on that program, and I'm so glad to be part of that when the hockey, part of Dinkytown Athletes started. 2:18 Yeah. 2:18 It was a really good collaboration to be able to launch support for hockey. 2:24 The minute we started talking about it, everybody said, you have to get with Gopher Puck Live. 2:28 This is the, you guys have the audience, you guys are connected, they well-respected, et cetera. 2:33 So I'm so glad we were able to partner on that. 2:35 Really appreciated you guys getting the word out and plugging us in with your audience. 2:40 And there was a generous donor who matched up to a pretty nice amount. 2:44 It just turned out to work really well. 2:46 And we were just, we're proud to be part of it. 2:48 And it's glad to kick it off. 2:51 But Veegs, it's not just this, it's not so simple. 2:53 There's just a lot of pieces to this, isn't there, Veegs? 2:57 Yeah, I think so. 2:57 Everything is really evolving with the NIL space and just trying to figure out what's going to be the right fit for Minnesota. 3:05 And we often joke that Minnesota compliance is one of the strictest in the country. 3:08 I think if you had a ranking, you might say they're number one. 3:12 So the approach that Minnesota take is maybe different than some of the SEC schools take. 3:18 And I think what Derek and his group are doing is setting up the institution for something sustainable and something that's going to be really successful long-term. 3:27 And I think this like Duck Duck Beer promotion with Gray Duck, and now the Vodka sales, I think that's a sign that Minnesota can come together and support our athletes here. 3:39 And it's going to be something maybe not an immediate impact to hockey, but it's going to be something that impacts them long-term. 3:48 Yeah, we have four different revenue streams coming into the collective, and passive income is the last one we've developed, which is brand collaborations. 3:56 And we've had a really, really, really fun and encouraging last couple of weeks, launching our beverage partnership. 4:03 And it's gotten a lot of, you know, beyond just, I think, the potential financial benefit, it's gotten a lot helped us get a lot of exposure, just because why, you know, connecting over beer, I guess, is a good way to connect with people. 4:16 So it's gotten people talking, it's gotten people to pay attention to this. 4:21 Let's be honest, I mean, there's a lot of negativity around NIL and people, a lot of times I think would rather plug their ears and like try and ignore it or forget about it or whatever. 4:30 So, but hopefully we can dispel some of that, you know, tonight and, but definitely a really exciting last couple of weeks, kind of wrapping around our beverage launch. 4:40 And yes, we're taking a very sustainable approach to this. 4:44 We're building something that will last, that's very supportive to the current athletes. 4:48 We are doing it the right way, but that doesn't mean we can't be competitive. 4:52 There's, after 16 months in this, I can tell you that we don't need to cheat in order to compete. 4:59 It's kind of our myth that we bust, and I can go into detail, but just rest assured, we're building something sustainable for sure. 5:07 So, sorry, my internet might be a little wonky here. 5:09 If I drop or go, you guys just keep going. 5:12 One thing Coach Matsuko talked about at the media day a couple of weeks ago is like, 90% of this stuff are just small little things, NIL. 5:21 You know, like somebody like a Cooley getting a Chipotle deal for free Chipotle for a year. 5:28 But you don't hear about that stuff because all people hear about are the big football things, the ridiculous things, but really 90-95% of this are small things like that and what you guys are doing that sustain the whole or like the backbone of everything. 5:45 Yeah, initially, I mean, a little over a year ago when we did the research, it's hard. 5:50 First of all, it's difficult to get solid financial information. 5:53 But from what we're able to glean, I mean, we kind of had it as 96% of what's going on in NIL is not the big headline grabbing deal between the football recruit at SEC School X that's getting seven figures for whatever. 6:15 That's what grabs the headlines and that's what people think all NIL is. 6:20 And although there's a little bit of that happening, and by the way, a lot of those headline grabbing deals are, there's more than meets the eye. 6:28 I'm not saying there isn't big deals out there, but very often if you back channel that, you find out that there's some holes. 6:34 But anyway, you're exactly right. 6:36 I mean, 96% of what's going on in NIL is getting, you know, real support, things like appearances, social endorsements, brand partnerships, fan engagements, exclusive content, you know, videos for members like our members and different collectives. 6:55 That's what NIL is for the most part. 6:57 And really similar to what we did this summer, we got a lot of people to help donate, get on board. 7:03 And you're like, yeah, well, you can have Justin Close for your podcast. 7:08 And it worked out just great for us. 7:12 And it was just, it wasn't a ton of effort on our part. 7:15 Let's just work together, put a few things up, put a page up, get people to talk about it. 7:20 And it worked out really well. 7:21 And that was a very cool case of how NIL could work. 7:25 Yeah, it's, I think that a couple of things, this is the new way to support student athletes. 7:31 You know, in my generation, I was a student athlete at the university a generation ago. 7:37 And, you know, in our generation, the coaches and the boosters help us get jobs. 7:41 They were actually real jobs. 7:43 We had to go show up and work, but they, you know, we had a connection there. 7:47 And boosters raised money for a new weight room. 7:50 And, you know, the new locker room upgrades and such. 7:53 And I know that still goes on, but this is the new way to support student athletes. 7:57 And the myth number one, which you're kind of getting at here, is that student athletes are not just paid for doing nothing. 8:04 This isn't, you know, we're just paying them because they're on the team, what have you. 8:08 By NCAA rules, they have to be doing something to earn the compensation. 8:13 And so, that's number one, is we're getting support to the student athletes in a new way for this generation. 8:20 But the other side of it is like, what do you as a fan or a donor or someone who's connected, get for that? 8:25 And it's ultimately, it's access to the athletes. 8:28 So if you're a hardcore fan that wants content that's not available to the average fan, in other words, meet and greets and autographs and special memorabilia and retro jerseys that we're going to have out later and exclusive content, interviews, day in the life content, that sort of thing. 8:47 It's that access to the athletes. 8:49 Think of anything like a fan club for your favorite band, whatever. 8:52 I mean, it's the same model. 8:53 So access to these athletes that wasn't available before. 8:57 That's what we can offer for it. 8:58 But at the same time, it's getting the athletes support. 9:01 And there's Composer. 9:02 I just bought a 12 pack of Duck Duck beer yesterday. 9:04 All right. 9:05 Thank you, Composer. 9:06 Let us know how it is. 9:11 Veegs, do you like the beer? 9:13 You had it? 9:15 Yeah, I had the release of Stub and Herbs that Dinkytown Athletes put on. 9:20 And then I enjoyed one during the pregame for the Michigan Minnesota game on Saturday. 9:25 I found it at Huntington Bank and brought one to my seats and showed it to all my season ticket holders around me. 9:31 And they went out and bought some Duck Duck beer as well. 9:33 So it's a great light lager. 9:35 You know, if you're going to drink a light lager, I would not go get some Denver water. 9:41 I would not go get St. 9:43 Louis water. 9:44 I would go get some Minnesota water and enjoy that and support your state. 9:49 So I think it's a great beer for that. 9:52 And it's not going to be the GPL beer of the week. 9:56 Every week. 9:57 It's something we do here, Derek. 9:58 I lean to things that are more Imperial, Stouty or big IPA. 10:03 But it's in the rotation now. 10:05 Excellent. 10:05 And I'm a beer stout. 10:06 So if it had all flavors, I would not be saying that. 10:09 But it's a very clean beer, which is what you're looking for in that style. 10:14 Great. 10:14 Well, it's good to hear that. 10:15 That's what they were going for is the widest appeal. 10:17 And it's a tailgate bonfire barbecue crusher, basically. 10:22 And I would, you know, my sales pitch on it is it's not a giant macro, you know, batting headache ingredients, that sort of thing. 10:31 It's a good clean crusher that with quality ingredients. 10:35 It's, you know, in Minnesota made. 10:37 And in your supporting Gopher Student Athletes. 10:41 Derek, what's your background? 10:44 What got you into all of this? 10:47 Yeah. 10:47 Dinkytown Athletes. 10:49 Yeah, my well, first thing, I was a student athlete at University of Minnesota 20, a little over 20 years ago. 10:57 And so lifelong, obviously now fan of Gopher Sports. 11:02 That's my passion. 11:03 But work wise, myself and my business partner who started this work together and owned the business for 20 years together, we were two of five owners that business was sold a little over two years ago. 11:15 And our intention was to take a little bit of a break before taking on our next business venture. 11:20 And I was connected with a pretty big group of kind of diehard football Gopher fans through Gopher Gridiron Radio, which is owned by Lou Bure. 11:34 And I do a guest spot on there for analysis. 11:37 And that group of people knew that NIL is coming and every Power 5 Conference team is going to need a collective. 11:45 And every major Division 1 hockey program is going to need a collective. 11:49 So they knew that the need was there. 11:52 And this was kind of a well-meaning group of fans. 11:54 And they didn't have anybody to lead it. 11:56 So they asked if Rob and I would be interested because we're diehard Gopher fans. 12:01 And we were kind of talked into it a little bit. 12:05 But it's a passion for us. 12:06 So we took it on as a passion project and thought, you know, this is the way we can give back. 12:11 I got support when I was a student athlete in those ways that I talked about. 12:15 And this is something that I can do to support the current student athletes. 12:20 So that's why I'm here. 12:21 That's why I'm doing it. 12:24 All right, Veegs. 12:25 So Derek, how's your expertise translated? 12:27 Like what were some of the hardest parts of setting up Dinkytown Athletes? 12:31 Because it seemed like at the start of NIL, there was almost like a land rush of people trying to figure out solutions for everything. 12:39 I know the Gopher Hockey alumni were a little uncertain about how Dinkytown Athletes was going to grow and if they were going to be sufficient. 12:47 So can you kind of talk us through that? 12:50 Yeah, we took six months before we launched to build bridges with the university itself. 12:56 So I don't want to give a really dry background explanation, but in short, collectives cannot be officially tied to universities. 13:06 It has to be an arm's length agreement because the universities themselves can't be involved in the contracts and the compensation of athletes. 13:13 So you have to have this kind of odd third party known as a collective in order to be able to do that. 13:19 But we wanted to do it right. 13:21 We wanted the university to know what we were doing, know what our intentions were, make those relationships so that they could help us in a compliant way. 13:32 They would know what we're doing and like let's do it right. 13:35 And it's really important, I think, to have one collective at a school. 13:39 There's really been a lot of evidence now showing that if you have multiple collectives, that's a recipe for disaster. 13:47 They end up eating each other up and they'll end up folding into one collective anyway. 13:52 It's too confusing for fans. 13:54 So we wanted to kind of be, let's be the one collective, let's do it right, let's have those relationships. 13:59 So that was kind of the background. 14:02 And frankly, my business experience that I had prior to this, there are some business principles to translate, but this is definitely has been a startup, which I had not had startup experience. 14:13 And my takeaway is that if I didn't have a passion in this, I would not be doing a startup. 14:19 A lot of work and there's not a lot of resources, but I've enjoyed it because I like the content and I have a passion for what it is. 14:26 But yeah, I guess those learning many things along the way. 14:30 And just to touch on what you said, Eric, there's been a lot of oxygen spent on how do you do this? 14:37 And what's the right recipe? 14:39 And what's going to win? 14:40 And we're not experts, but in looking at what's working and what's not working elsewhere and trying to fit something to this market, we really feel like we have a good recipe. 14:51 And we think the solution is right in front of us. 14:55 And it's a blend of donors and fan members and business partnerships and that passive income. 15:01 So those four things together, I think, is a good recipe for success for this market. 15:07 I know Mark Coyle always talks about like the five buckets of revenue for his athletic department. 15:12 You know, ticket sales, donations, institutional funds, TV revenue. 15:18 I think, you know, for Dinkytown Athletes, identify that they have buckets of revenue to pursue as well as really smart. 15:25 I think, you know, the growth has been nice to see throughout the year because, you know, everybody's trying to get their feet going on this. 15:33 And just seeing the support rise up the last couple of weeks. 15:36 I know the athletes I've talked to you about it are very excited about how it's going to impact them down the future and when their alums see this for their program as well. 15:45 Yeah, it's another myth probably in those top three myths that we get are Minnesota doesn't have any NIL and you know, they've got nothing going or we're in that's just not true. 15:58 I would say because we're not grabbing those headlines of trying to steal the recruit or make a big inducement or something, we're probably not making those headlines which I'm proud of the fact that we aren't but we have I mean we've only been we've only really officially launched just over a year and we already have almost 500 activations that's 500 deals with almost 100 student athletes so we've had a lot going on and the growth has been has been very encouraging and the growth is actually accelerating too so it's not hasn't just been linear it's it's you know in the last I mean specifically the last three weeks it's really taken off as well so we're really proud of where we're at we're really proud to be where we are we've had a lot of wins and a lot of things we can point to and and retention of athletes that we can point to but at the same time we have to be competitive and this is this is a new huge pillar that university sports teams are competing on for attracting and and retaining talent and I will just say hockey is about a year behind basketball and football but let me tell you it's coming and I don't want to scare anybody but the this will be something just like just like the facilities we're competed with and whatever else that you know attracts recruits and and transfers and and you know retains talent. 17:29 This is going to be probably number one or number two. 17:32 So it's it's going to be even I can say in hockey just even in the last two months totally different than it was two months ago. 17:42 Although I know we've got a question here coming up from one of our favorite lawyer, the GPL lawyer, that we'll get to that in a second. 17:48 But first we need to talk about one of our sponsors, FURTA Fundraisers, Veegs. 17:53 Yeah, Association Hockey is underway and that means fundraising season is coming right around the corner. 17:59 FURTA Fundraisers is here to put the fun back in fundraising with staff to plan around your needs, support from start to finish and plans to maximize your return while staying close to retail prices. 18:10 FURTA prides themselves on showcasing local premium products like GPL loves local products too. 18:16 Joe Mama Salsa, Von Hansen's Pretzel Snacks and Croy Valley BBQ Rub & Sausage. 18:22 Visit furtafundraisers.com to ignite your fundraising for the boys, for the girls, for the community, for the fundraisers. 18:31 All right. 18:33 Thanks for that, Veegs. 18:35 Let's go back to the big screen here. 18:37 We see everybody here. 18:39 And we had a question from our favorite GPL lawyer, Eric Brever. 18:45 How have traditional big donors responded to the Collective? 18:50 Is the you concerned that donors will move to monies to the Collective and not donate to the school? 18:57 Yeah, this is a, I think, everywhere this is a topic of conversation. 19:02 I don't know that I'd use the word concerned. 19:04 You know, the foundations at these schools are the ones that control the 501c3 donations that ultimately get to the athletic department. 19:11 And so if you ask them, it's certainly something that's on their radar. 19:15 I don't know if they would consider it a threat or not. 19:17 But from a donor's perspective, it's very new and it's, I would say, a very, there's a lot of educating going on to tie. 19:28 There are a lot of questions to be answered and things like that. 19:30 And one of those is definitely, well, I've donated every year to the foundation fund and, okay, should I split my donation? 19:39 Should I donate to NIL now? 19:41 And our answer is ask the coaches. 19:44 And I think right now the coaches would tell you that NIL is a priority. 19:47 I'm not here to take away from anything that the foundation is doing. 19:51 They have a very large budget. 19:53 And just to be completely blunt, I mean, what I think the collective and what Gopher Hockey needs in order to be competitive and stay competitive is not going to erode somebody's, you know, the foundation's income. 20:10 So I think that both can happen. 20:13 Certainly ask for both or people will be wanting to donate to both. 20:16 But I think it's fair to say NIL is a priority right now. 20:20 And if that means that, you know, some money gets shifted that way, I think that's the world we live in at the moment. 20:25 Our guy Sloth says when he wins the Powerball tonight, he's going to pledge 10% to you. 20:30 So I think you would take that. 20:32 Yes. 20:34 Sloth, I think that's also a binding contract. 20:36 We've got Eric Brewer on retainer, and I think he's going to write that up for us. 20:41 So thank you. 20:43 So what's the future for Dinkytown Athletes? 20:45 I mean, what's your one or maybe three year goals right now? 20:51 We want to support all nearly 500 student athletes at the University of Minnesota in all sports. 20:58 I think that's a good goal. 20:59 I mean, this will sound a little bit ambiguous, but we need to be competitively supporting our student athletes. 21:08 So in a way, it's like we're supporting them so that this is looked at as a positive, or that it's in the same realm to where this isn't a negative and being played against us, right? 21:23 So you have to be in the game. 21:26 Believe it or not, NIL is not really about who has the most money. 21:30 I think that's people's assumption when you, again, you hear about those headline deals where, well, a student athlete left here because they could go get more money here, and yes, some of that happens to a degree, but ultimately student athletes are making decisions based on a number of things, and NIL is going to be one of those. 21:49 So if there are two or three schools that they're considering, and all three are giving an amount of support that's relatively similar or kind of in the same realm, it's, that's not the thing, right? 22:03 So, but what we have seen, there's two things we've seen, and I'm not sure how this will affect hockey, but two things we've seen are student athletes in their final year of eligibility who are not going to make money in the pros. 22:16 We have seen them leave for to make more money because they're saying, this is my last year, I have to make money while I'm in college because I'm not going to be making it in the pros. 22:26 That is a trend we're seeing. 22:28 The other is, if you don't have any support or very little support, you will get players poached. 22:36 You will lose those battles. 22:37 So again, I'll just, I'll restate it to make it super clear. 22:41 We haven't seen that this is about whoever can offer the most money or have the most resources. 22:48 And it's literally comes down to someone going to the college down the road because they can get 20 percent more. 22:55 We're not seeing that. 22:56 It's not about having the most, it's about being competitive and being in the game. 23:01 All right. 23:02 I see a question from Ryan K. 23:03 Are you seeing alumni playing pro sports, stepping up in helping the collective? 23:09 I find this a little interesting because, yeah, I believe you have a little difficulty with current pro players and trying to do stuff with them, don't you? 23:20 Not really. 23:22 We haven't. 23:23 So if you, there's some ownership. 23:26 So there are some collectives that have ownership tied to pro franchises, and that's an issue. 23:32 So there are a few collective owners that are part owners in basketball, for NBA franchises, and that becomes a conflict of interest. 23:41 But no, I think in general, pro alumni, I think that is becoming a thing. 23:48 First of all, we've had some really good productive conversations with the Men's Hockey Alumni, and that's really an ambitious group that wants to support the players. 23:58 And I think I don't want to give anything away. 24:03 I've been pushing them towards you. 24:05 Okay. 24:06 There are some things coming up in the future that I think are going to be pretty exciting to support the collective, but it's early, so just stay tuned for that. 24:15 But elsewhere, I can say around the country, there have been Michigan State NHL alumni have made a very large investment in their collective. 24:27 So I think that is a thing. 24:29 It's going to continue to be a thing. 24:30 And I think it's a good thing. 24:32 I mean, giving back to the college that you cut your chops at and had that college experience and giving back to that, I think is great. 24:41 I like that we're seeing some retro gear. 24:44 Nigerian shirts and things like that. 24:47 I like that. 24:49 Yep, we have got some coming for hockey. 24:51 So we've got some retro jerseys with alumni name, image, and likeness. 24:56 And in those cases, those alumni that you're going to see have graciously donated that essentially to be able to have the proceeds from those retro jerseys go to the collective to support the current players. 25:10 So look for that soon. 25:13 I see a question here. 25:14 Taylor Kearns, our guy, Mote. 25:15 I know nothing about NAL. 25:17 Can you donate to specific sport? 25:19 Does it kind of need to go into one pot? 25:21 And actually, you can with Dinkytown Athletes, can't you? 25:25 Yep. 25:25 So as I mentioned, those four revenue streams, the main one, I think for our market is going to be just fan memberships. 25:35 So fan memberships start at $10 a month. 25:38 It basically operates on a Patreon model. 25:40 So it's $10 a month up to $500 a month. 25:44 And you get different perks at each level. 25:46 And when you purchase a membership, yes, you can choose to which sport or sports you want your membership to benefit. 25:54 So it doesn't go into a pot unless you want it to go into our general fund. 26:00 If you just want to support men's hockey or men's and women's hockey or hockey and softball, I mean, whatever mix you want, you can make that election when you become a member. 26:09 Sounds like a good deal, Veegs. 26:12 Yeah, I think it's going to be really important. 26:13 I mean, you can look at what Michigan State's doing with their hockey program. 26:17 You know, it's not just the collective. 26:18 They've made lots of improvements to their arena, to their team facilities. 26:23 And I was just like listening to Derek Schooley this week on USCHO and he's like, these teams are going to be paying players to come there. 26:32 And it's going to be a real problem for programs that don't have enough support to keep up because there's only 64 division one men's hockey programs. 26:42 So there's going to be a little bit of stratification that happens. 26:46 You know, because you're not going to see a big TV money in division one men's hockey. 26:51 So it's going to be ticket sales, contributions to the programs and contributions to the collectives. 26:57 So it's going to be a big, big part of the next decade of college hockey, I think. 27:02 Yeah. 27:02 And I think that Minnesota specifically would, and I know there's some apples and oranges for sure, but if you look at the legacy and kind of the placement of historically of Gopher Hockey being right at the top and you look at other sports, what the challenge is or the concern is if we don't do NIL right, is those very top teams lose their depth. 27:26 So you see that other teams will come in and try to induce, which is technically not allowed by the NCAA, but it does happen. 27:34 And they'll try to lure those players that aren't on the first line, those players that aren't getting enough ice time, they'll try and lure them to their team because they're going to play more. 27:44 And maybe they can, you know, maybe they're, they have a donor that's willing to throw a big carrot out there to try to lure them financially. 27:52 So I definitely think we can deal with that here. 27:56 And again, supporting the current student athletes that we have really takes that away. 28:01 But if you're, if we're cavalier about this, the way that a couple of football powerhouses have been, then they've now changed their tune, by the way, but they went into this saying, hey, we're Helmut School X, like NIL, whatever, big deal. 28:16 And it's, and they lost, they lost recruits and they lost talent. 28:20 And now they're, they're changing. 28:22 So I think we can learn from that and just learn to get ahead of this and just make sure that we're supporting our student athletes and all the other wonderful reasons why, why hockey athletes want to come to the U of M are still there. 28:38 Veegs, did you have anything else for Derek here? 28:41 I have been a big fan of your podcast with Ryan and Luke over the years. 28:47 And I had a question that got on to your show this last week. 28:51 And it's the bi-week for the football program. 28:53 So I got to get a little football talk in here before we shift on. 28:57 But I pose, what's the philosophical next step for this Gopher football program? 29:02 When you look at Gopher Hockey, with their young players, they develop them. 29:08 Right now, Oliver Moore is going to be a center for the Gophers. 29:11 He's a first round pick. 29:12 He's going to play a lot of minutes. 29:14 He's going to be on the power play. 29:15 He scored two goals in the exhibition. 29:17 And Moscow is just feeding him more and more to develop them. 29:21 Sam Renzel, first round pick of the Chicago Blackhawks. 29:24 Stepping into a blue line where there's a lot of openings with guys going on the NHL. 29:30 He is playing on a first power play unit and getting lots of time. 29:35 How do you see PJ taking this football team, which has struggled a little bit this year with North Carolina and Northwestern, and then maybe getting overbatch with Michigan, continuing to develop all this talent they have? 29:47 They got the two big freshman running backs, Ethan Kalikamanis at quarterback. 29:52 A lot of skill, but a lot of room to grow. 29:54 What do you see happening in the second half? 29:57 Well, that was a great question that we did address in the podcast. 30:01 I'll give you my honest answer. 30:02 I know I probably will sound like a rude, but hopefully, if anybody's listened to the Gopher Gridan Radio Podcast the last few years, hopefully, I built up some equity and I really try and shoot straight, give my honest opinion. 30:16 I think it's going to get better. 30:18 Here's why. 30:18 They've had a lot of those young guys that when I look at them, I said from game one, I don't think it's a speed, size, strength, athleticism thing with those guys, why they're not playing as well as we want them to be. 30:32 I think it's a mental in football, we call them post snap reads, but it's being in the right position and reacting to what the other side of the ball is doing. 30:41 And that you have to develop that with experience. 30:45 It's not necessarily that they're missed assignments. 30:47 They're doing the wrong thing. 30:49 They're just a little slow in getting to the right spot. 30:51 And the only way that you get better at that is seeing that play or diagnosing that play or running that play the 50th time, you're a lot better at it than you were the 5th time that you did it. 31:03 So I really think that they're going to be better in the second half of the year because particularly on defense where they've been really solid the last, I mean, the last five years of this PJ Fleck era, they've just been pretty lights out on defense. 31:17 That's been a problem because they've given up big plays so far and for the reasons that I think I mentioned. 31:22 And so I think that's going to get better. 31:25 Who knows how much and how quickly that comes. 31:27 I don't have a crystal ball, but I do think it's going to get better. 31:31 They are going to get some things cleaned up on defense. 31:33 And then the other side of the ball as well, get those those young guys. 31:36 And they got to get some guys healthy, too. 31:39 We got Brevver here with another question. 31:41 Resident Lawyer, here we go. 31:42 Uncomfortable question. 31:44 Our member, but he's a member and he's happy to do it. 31:48 How are we sure that the money goes where it's supposed to? 31:52 Who audits Dinkytown Athletes? 31:54 Yep, that's a very fair question. 31:56 So we are being that we're separate from the university, we have pledged 85% of every dollar that comes in goes to go for student athletes. 32:06 We're transparent with the university about that. 32:09 And the 15% that doesn't go to student athletes is to run the business. 32:14 So there's no money in running a collective, I'll just be honest. 32:18 That's not why we're doing it. 32:19 There's no profit for Rob and I to run this. 32:22 But 15% is at the good end of kind of what the norm is. 32:28 So if you basically are, I'll just say this, our relationship with the university keeps us, you know, that if there were going to be anything nefarious, we wouldn't be here. 32:39 We wouldn't last very long at all. 32:41 So, yeah, so that's, those are the checks and balances that we have to make sure that somebody else is making sure that we're putting the money where it needs to go. 32:51 Okay. 32:52 Okay. 32:53 Well, thanks for joining us, Derek. 32:55 It was great to have you on, give us some education on NIL. 33:00 It's my pleasure. 33:01 And if anybody wants to learn more, dinkytownathletes.com, become a member or ask questions or hit me up on social. 33:11 And you could find me one way or another, happy to answer questions. 33:14 And we might have Derek come back for a little overtime a little later. 33:19 So stay tuned. 33:21 Thanks for joining us, Derek. 33:22 Thank you, gentlemen. 33:24 And here's a little something from our sponsor. 33:29 Hi, I'm Kevin. 33:31 I've been part of the ball crew at numerous tennis events for years. 33:35 They say I'm an excellent ball handler. 33:37 It's my job to get loose balls where they're supposed to be, to make the players comfortable so they can focus on the task at hand, winning. 33:46 Which is why I recommend Chill Boys Life Changing Bamboo Boxers and Boxer Briefs. 33:52 Chill Boys, comfort where it counts. 33:57 I thought that was a good commercial, so I thought we should run it. 33:59 Chill Boys, don't forget to use the code. 34:08 I'm sorry, go to chillboys.com, use the promo code, Pulltab15 for 15% off your order. 34:16 Gosh, talk so much yourselves. 34:19 Right there, Jupe. 34:21 Boy, could use a little duck duck beer to get that throat in order. 34:25 Yeah, I suppose we should talk a little bit of hockey as this is the Gopher Puck Live Podcast. 34:30 That first exhibition with St. 34:33 Thomas, I thought that first period was rough, a challenging one. 34:39 You know, Minnesota probably was a little too into their summer hockey and not necessarily on top of their competitive hockey game. 34:47 I think Bob joked that, you know, Minnesota were really good at being fancy, but fancy doesn't win hockey games. 34:53 And they had to work on their grit and their grease to find their game. 34:57 And once they did that, I thought that second period really changed. 35:01 You know, they got a couple of power play opportunities, even though the power play didn't look great. 35:05 You know, it's a chance to work on against a real opponent. 35:08 Yeah. 35:09 They started to figure some things out, which was, which is nice to see. 35:13 You know, we saw everyone playing, you know, Bob was rotating those seven defensemen through the lineup. 35:19 We even saw Michael a little bit, the St. 35:22 John's player, who's the late ad, get in there. 35:25 But I thought it's encouraging for that first week. 35:29 Obviously, Oliver Moore looked great, which is really nice to see for Gopher fans. 35:34 And, you know, he's going to be a good player for them this season. 35:38 I would agree with you on the slow start. 35:40 I think it was four shots that first period. 35:42 And then, some feedback came in. 35:46 Was that me? 35:48 I did not hear it. 35:49 You're good. 35:50 OK, well, I hear something in my ear. 35:52 Something's running in the house. 35:53 I'm like, what the heck is that? 35:56 Yes, obviously, they improved. 35:59 Yeah. 36:01 The hit on Nevers, Veegs, you put that video out and it quickly had a couple hundred thousand views. 36:10 By the way, Chris caught me. 36:12 I did say St. 36:12 Thomas, Bumidji. 36:14 It's been a long day for me here. 36:16 But yeah, the hit on Nevers, you know, the player for Bumidji got hit by Oliver Moore earlier in the shift and he got hit pretty good. 36:26 And I think he was like, this is an exhibition. 36:28 I didn't appreciate that hit. 36:30 I'm looking for something else. 36:32 And as he came through the neutral zone and Nevers was kind of fumbling the puck along the boards, this guy thought, okay, here's my chance. 36:41 I'm going to take a run at this guy. 36:42 And I think because of some of the positioning on the ice, Nevers didn't really see him come in. 36:47 It wasn't like he was coming straight at him. 36:49 He was coming out of nowhere. 36:51 So he didn't really see him. 36:52 Yes, I know he didn't have his head up. 36:55 But at the same point, this is amateur hockey. 36:57 You can't take runs and pick people's heads. 37:00 You know, if he would have came from straight on and just hit him, you know, center mass and skated right through him, that's one thing. 37:07 He didn't. 37:08 He came through. 37:09 He picked, you know, there's head contact. 37:12 Nevers' head may have hit the ice after his helmet came off. 37:16 But, you know, it's gotten over 250,000 views now on Twitter. 37:20 A lot of people say clean hit. 37:22 I have to disagree. 37:23 And now the Gophers will be without Nevers for at least a couple of weeks. 37:28 He's not practicing this week. 37:30 They will get Aaron Huglum back for St. 37:33 Thomas after he missed the Bemidji State Series or game, which will be helpful. 37:38 But it's tough for the Gophers to have these players missing in the start of the season with Kester out, now Nevers out. 37:44 You know, Aerie hasn't practiced yet. 37:46 He skated today in his goalie year, but he didn't really practice. 37:50 That's a tough way to start the season. 37:52 Moate says it sounds like Missile Command, Ryan is Jupe's girlfriend running the vacuum. 37:57 I just texted her. 37:57 I'm like, are you running something outside? 37:59 Because it was something kind of electronic interference that I heard, apparently the people heard too. 38:04 So who knows? 38:06 I'm still on Wi-Fi right now. 38:08 Hopefully by this time next week, I'll be on wired connection once I get this room a little more clean. 38:14 So we're getting there. 38:17 You know, you saw a lot of people say, clean hit, clean hit, blah, blah, blah. 38:23 You know, it may have been a clean hit 20 years ago, Eegs. 38:27 30 years ago. 38:28 Yeah, but it's just, I have a problem. 38:31 Oh, well, he hit his shoulder for, I'm like, the purpose of that hit is to impede his progress, to slow him down. 38:42 You don't need to separate him from the puck. 38:44 Yeah, you don't need to go in there and kill the kid. 38:51 So it's kind of hard, you know, you got a lot of old school people. 38:53 So it's clean, clean, clean. 38:55 I'm like, it was a clean hit. 38:59 Why did he get kicked out? 39:03 So, yeah, it's not clean in today's game. 39:06 And I think when there have been some gophers who had some questionable hits over the years, I have not held back, you know, there's no risk of me not delivering some fire in their way either. 39:19 If it's one of our guys doing it, I say, sit on them. 39:20 I mean, that's just you just can't do that kind of stuff. 39:23 It's it's it's not worth it. 39:26 It's not worth it these days. 39:28 It's just not. 39:29 I mean, you've seen how some of these players have taken hits and hits and hits over the career. 39:34 And some of them have mental issues after they're done playing hockey. 39:36 Some die young because of it. 39:38 I mean, it's just it's crazy. 39:41 So this is the new thing with sports, folks. 39:45 Yeah, I think it is. 39:46 They're trying to survive past it and have a life after sports. 39:51 Yeah, I think it is a good sign that Mason Nevers was at practice today. 39:54 He wasn't at home isolating in a dark room or anything. 39:57 So he's obviously feeling good enough to be at the rink. 40:00 You know, they're just going to be cautious with him. 40:03 I don't know if there's any timeline for him to get back into action, but they will go through the proper protocols. 40:09 You know, Minnesota relies on their doctors to clear their players. 40:12 It's not going to be a coach's decision. 40:14 So as it is there. 40:16 Chris L. 40:17 Thoughts on Pitlick kind of up and down. 40:18 Yeah, I was kind of talking to you about that. 40:20 I'm like, you know, he got the goal, but man, he was kind of definitely up and down that game. 40:26 Do you plant this question, too? 40:28 I swear I didn't. 40:29 You were in my ear about it. 40:31 He did get a goal, which is good for Pitlicks confidence. 40:35 I thought they did generate some offensive chances. 40:38 I think there was just a little bit of timing issues. 40:41 You know, when you get to competitive hockey, you definitely need to clear the blue line and get possession, and you definitely need to have guys driving the net and getting pucks deep. 40:50 And I think just the transition from summer hockey to actual competitive hockey could be an issue there. 40:56 You know, Pitlicks are really skilled player, and I think he thrives on players who think the game at a high level. 41:03 And sometimes I think that thinking just comes into play there. 41:06 You know, I know the Gophers are counting on him to be one of their key players offensively on the power play. 41:12 And he can drive some offense if he's given the right chance. 41:16 So we'll see where he ends up. 41:18 You know, he played a lot with Hughlin and Kurth. 41:21 Yeah, Hughlin out of the lineup. 41:23 You know, he's trying to find new chemistry with someone out there during the exhibition. 41:27 So we'll see where he ends up this week. 41:30 Well, quickly, let's talk about one of our other sponsors here. 41:33 Veeegs Unreal is on board with us this year as a sponsor as well. 41:39 And they've also got a nice deal going for 15% off. 41:43 But what can you tell us about it? 41:46 Gopher Puck Live is all about Minnesota and so is Unreal. 41:49 This company was started in 2013 by a Minnesota entrepreneur, Michael E. 41:54 Jordan, who had $300 in his bank account and is growing a brand looking to leave a legacy here. 42:00 We're all about people who want to invest in Minnesota. 42:03 And Unreal is one of those companies. 42:04 They're an independent local clothing company, crafted around the athlete. 42:08 They release fresh looks, the hottest drops, and donate 10% of all profits to organizations and worthy causes in our community. 42:15 Visit unreal.co. 42:16 That's a co.com. 42:18 And use the promo code pulltab15 for 15% off your order. 42:23 Definitely take advantage of that, folks. 42:25 It's good stuff. 42:26 If you're a Vikings fan, look for their drops. 42:29 They do these exclusive stuff. 42:31 They do a lot of hockey merch. 42:34 Maybe we'll see some gopher merch besides the row of the boat stuff here soon. 42:38 Let's see. 42:39 Let's go. 42:43 All right. 42:43 I'll take a look at some comments. 42:45 Opinion on Fish. 42:47 Definitely hoping to see him have a good year this year. 42:51 I like that kid, Veegs. 42:53 Such a solid defenseman. 42:55 Yeah, he was talking with the media today and he had the grit in Greece gopher hockey shirt on. 43:00 That's what he adds to the lineup. 43:04 And he was looking forward to hitting someone in a real game because he's had to hold back during practice so far. 43:11 He's a physical player and he understands what he can contribute to the lineup. 43:16 I thought he looked really good skating wise. 43:19 You know, in this chances last year, he did a pretty nice job there a couple of times against Michigan. 43:24 I think he maybe got a little over the skis with himself, but he has the skill. 43:30 And I think as he gets more playing time, he'll get more confident. 43:34 One thing about Fish is he skated a lot this summer with Kester and Nevers. 43:40 He was one of the guys who stayed home and worked out a lot with Cal Dietz and the Gopher program. 43:47 And I think that's going to pay off for him this season. 43:50 You know, there's a lot of ice time out there. 43:52 Now, the Johnson, Faber and Lecombe have gone on to professional hockey. 43:57 And so I think they're looking for Fish to fill some minutes, play a little penalty kill and give them some depth to their lineup. 44:05 Ryan Kay, yes, please on the unreal Gopher Puck gear. 44:10 I like the way he's thinking. 44:11 Speaking of gear, Veegs, the New Jerseys look cool, according to Sue Slayer. 44:17 And, you know, we got that that drop on Saturday morning at 11 a.m., three New Jerseys, and then they pull out the road jerseys at Mariucci on Sunday. 44:30 Why not? 44:30 Right. 44:31 It means an exhibition. 44:32 You wear whatever you want. 44:34 No, I was they look good. 44:37 I thought the gold really popped. 44:39 You know, I think some of the jerseys the last couple of years, the numbers have been more gold on the shoulders. 44:43 Yeah. 44:45 So these were nice to see. 44:46 They were clean. 44:47 They popped under the LED lighting, which I know some people maybe looked up during the game and caught a little glare from the lights. 44:54 They're bright. 44:56 So keep your eyes on the ice. 44:57 It's like looking at the sun, you know, with the eclipse that's happening this weekend. 45:02 Don't look at the sun directly unless you have protection. 45:05 Same thing with the LED lights at Mariucci. 45:07 And you know, one thing people can say, it's darker in there. 45:10 It's darker in there. 45:11 I don't think people realize how the light was in Mariucci. 45:14 It was so flat and it went so out over the stands that now the stands are not lit up as much. 45:22 So it kind of makes the whole building look darker, but the ice is not that dark. 45:27 I think it's just kind of a perception thing. 45:29 I think it's definitely a perception thing. 45:31 You know, when you're down by the ice, it looks normal and bright. 45:35 I think it's just when you step back and you look into the stands, especially like we posted that video of the Salute, you know, someone was talking about dim. 45:42 Well, they kind of dim it down once the game's over. 45:45 And I think you're going to see some cool light stuff throughout the season now that they have the technology to do it. 45:53 The glass, I personally was not a fan of Veegs. 45:57 A little difficult to see the angles through that glass because it's a combo. 46:03 It's like a hybrid plexiglass, whatever it is, because it's different and it sounds different when the puck hits it too. 46:10 But as a photographer, I was shooting straight through the glass. 46:15 I was doing okay there. 46:16 But some of the angles, I heard some complaints. 46:20 Yeah, I think if you're looking through the seams, you're going to have some issues. 46:25 But I think it's the same glass as they have in a lot of NHL rinks. 46:29 And that's what they want to do. 46:30 They want to do that standard high-end material that they're going to be playing in at the NHL level. 46:38 So I think it's just a change for Gopher fans. 46:40 They'll have to get used to. 46:41 And one thing I did like is that because of the new configuration of the arena, Brever's seats down on the end, behind the goal in section one, they're up 16 more inches. 46:53 So they could see over the goal. 46:55 They could see down what's in front of them a lot better. 46:58 I think those seats behind that goal are going to be some pretty good seats because I sat there in the second period and for a few, about five, ten minutes. 47:06 And it was, those are pretty good seats. 47:09 But as a photographer, there's some corners and nooks areas that I could never think about going to shoot from that I'll be able to do this year. 47:17 So I was happy with that. 47:18 You know, just go to a corner on the second period on the other side and I can get the offense and get some good shots and not be worried about bumping into a fan. 47:27 They didn't use the big luxury seats this past weekend. 47:30 I noticed some EMTs are sitting in the seats. 47:32 A couple of people snuck in them. 47:34 I sat, you know, sat in one. 47:37 Frank Mazzocco and I went around the arena before the fans got in and got to test a couple of things out. 47:43 But all in all, I think the changes went over very well, Veegs. 47:47 Yeah, I think so too. 47:48 The players all liked the ice. 47:49 They thought the boards were great. 47:52 So they're happy. 47:53 So when the players are happy, the fans should be happy, I would think. 47:58 All right, Veegs, we've got one more break we've got to do here. 48:02 And you know what it is. 48:05 Duke Cannon. 48:07 I got my slow skill. 48:08 Duke Cannon. 48:09 You got some? 48:11 I'm on board with it. 48:14 Yeah, Gopher Puck Live is part of the Pulltab Sports family this year. 48:17 And that means we need to make sure our hockey here is elite. 48:21 One weapon in your hair care arsenal should be Duke Cannon Men's grooming products. 48:27 They're a Minnesota company that makes hardworking products for hardworking men, whether it's serious flow, styling, putty, adding some structure to your game or news anchor thick hair, which I use from time to time to increase some volume. 48:39 Visit dukecannon.com, Target or even your local hardware store for products to make your hair a weapon. 48:48 And they smell good too, Veegs. 48:51 I got some. 48:52 I'm like, wow, I smell good. 48:55 And I got mine at Target as well. 48:57 So you want to go. 49:00 Everybody goes to Target. 49:01 You know where to find it, folks. 49:04 I was using the news. 49:05 Paul made. 49:06 I think it was. 49:08 So it's good stuff, folks. 49:11 Definitely good stuff. 49:13 St. 49:14 Thomas, Veegs, heading down to the X Friday night. 49:17 I know you can't make a UCAD youth hockey galore all over the place, but at the X, you know, I'm guessing there'll be quite a few Gopher fans. 49:25 There might be. 49:27 There'll be a lot of St. 49:28 Thomas fans there as well. 49:29 But it'll be actually nice to play at the X again. 49:32 It's been a while for the Gophers. 49:34 Yeah, we were talking about that today. 49:36 I feel like 2017 might have been the last time the Gophers had played the X. 49:41 So it's been a while. 49:43 A couple of the players are saying, why not, you know, start the year where you're going to end the year. 49:49 So we'll see since the Frozen 4 is going to be at Excel at the end of the season. 49:53 You know, that's definitely their goal. 49:54 It's what they're thinking of right now. 49:56 But it's a long way to get there. 49:58 And this team, you know, with so many losses from last season on the blue line, I think that's the big question mark. 50:05 I was listening to Chris Peters and Brad Schlossman this week talk about Minnesota. 50:10 And they are worried with the question marks at the Gophers defense because they've got players who played a lot of minutes, all the special teams, and now they're gone. 50:20 So this weekend, I'm really going to watch to see how Luke Middlestad, Sam Renzell run that power play, if they get power play chances. 50:29 I think that's really the real critical part of this team that can push them to the top of the Big Ten and do a number one seed, or to the middle of the Big Ten and fighting for, you know, a NCAA bid. 50:44 And St. 50:46 Thomas is looking good. 50:47 St. 50:47 Thomas is looking good. 50:48 They gave St. 50:49 Cloud all they can handle and they stole some points from them, you know, in the pairwise and everything. 50:55 So this will be a good test for Minnesota. 50:58 Rico brought in a lot of transfers to the team. 51:01 A little surprised by that. 51:04 I'm not. 51:06 Well, I thought he was going to do it. 51:07 I think a lot of players are going to be coming and going. 51:09 I thought he was going to do it right away. 51:10 And he really didn't dip in as much as I thought he would. 51:13 He waited a year to really go in the portal hard. 51:17 And so this is a team that could be dangerous. 51:20 You know, Minnesota has so much depth up front with their forward group. 51:25 I think they'll be able to roll four lines. 51:28 And really, if they can get to work and not have one undone shifts, you know, that depth will stand out against the Tommies who probably don't have that kind of depth to compete with them. 51:38 And Justin Close is healthy and should be back for both games this weekend. 51:44 Huguen should be back as well, correct? 51:46 Yep, Huguen's been skating. 51:48 He looks like he'll be fine for the weekend. 51:50 That's what Bob said. 51:51 You know, we won't see Nevers. 51:53 We won't see Kester, obviously. 51:55 You know, Kester is rushing back, according to Bob, in his media availability today. 52:01 I think caution is probably a good thing for him with his injury and making sure he's ready to come back. 52:07 And I think the medical team will protect Kester from himself because he wants to be out there. 52:13 Yeah. 52:13 Missing the start of the season is so hard for these players. 52:16 But that's very encouraging. 52:18 Yeah. 52:19 I mean, it means that, you know, they're not going to tell people what he knows, what's going on. 52:25 But, you know, it's it's not something super serious that will leave him out for two months or three months or the year, at least. 52:32 Yeah, that that we see. 52:34 Yeah, this injury is what I think it is. 52:36 It's something that, you know, with that five to six week timeline, he should be ready to go and come back to the ice. 52:45 And, you know, he can add a lot of offense to this team. 52:47 He's the one defenseman who's, I think, got the best vision back there for that part of the team. 52:55 And sometimes the defenseman, when they get the puck on the point, you know, they're too mechanical. 53:00 They're too direct. 53:01 So you think he's creative and he sees things well enough. 53:07 Rinzel was on the ice a lot this past weekend. 53:11 They are going to be giving him kind of liked it. 53:16 I'm excited to see what he can do. 53:19 Yeah, Bob's really happy with his progress. 53:21 He says he leaps every week. 53:25 Every week he gets more and more confident. 53:27 And, you know, I noticed he touches the stove quite a bit and takes chances. 53:33 And when you're 6'5 and can move like he does, that gives you the ability to do that. 53:38 It's going to be a learning process for him about what situations he does that in for the Gophers. 53:44 But he's got a lot of talent and a lot of confidence. 53:46 I think it's just getting some experience and reps. 53:49 You know, Derek was talking about this with the football team and football players is getting reps and getting your eyes on the right spot. 53:55 I think that's the challenge when you moved to Division 1 Hockey. 54:01 So how do you feel about this weekend? 54:02 I mean, I think it's tough to predict when the games start. 54:05 You just, you're basically just throwing something against the wall, but what do you think? 54:10 I'm not as worried as Brad and Chris are about the Gophers defense. 54:15 I think they've got with Rinzel and Middlestad enough offense. 54:18 And of course, we haven't talked about Chesley at all. 54:21 Chesley is going to be... 54:22 He was all over the place too. 54:24 Yeah, he's not on the power play right now at this point, but he's going to be leading the penalty kill. 54:30 He's going to be tough in the defensive zone. 54:31 He's a physical player. 54:33 And I think he does want to get into the rush when he gets chances. 54:37 And Bob even made a Faber reference when talking about Chesley today, saying, you know, I don't want to set expectations too high for Chesley, but there's a lot of Faber attributes in Chesley's games. 54:51 I do think the one thing with Chesley that's different than Faber, Chesley wants to get into the rush more than Brock did. 54:57 Brock seemed to be, I want to own the defensive part of the rink. 55:02 I want to set my teammates up to get in transition. 55:04 He didn't really join the rush. 55:07 Chesley is going to jump up there. 55:08 He wants to get involved in the offense, which will be fun to see. 55:12 Well, it's going to be a fun home and home weekend no matter what, Veegs. 55:17 And then it's going to lead us to kind of a special podcast next week. 55:22 And a special day next week. 55:25 We won't be on Wednesday. 55:27 We will be on Thursday. 55:28 And we'll be earlier in the evening, about 7 o'clock. 55:32 And where are we going to be, Veegs? 55:34 We're going to be at the Ralph. 55:35 We are going to be at the Ralph. 55:37 Let's do this. 55:38 It's going to be fun. 55:40 It could be total cluster. 55:43 But we're going to do it anyway because we did it. 55:46 We did it live from Tampa Arena this spring. 55:49 So we're going to try it here. 55:51 We're going to go to the Ralph. 55:52 We've got people got us, get us all set up in the Ralph. 55:56 And of course Schlossman is going to join us. 55:59 And then he's going to take us to the Olive Garden afterwards, or maybe before. 56:03 I'm not really sure. 56:04 Maybe it's a before things we can check out the whole deal. 56:08 But that's going to be a fun one no matter what, Veegs. 56:13 Yeah, I'm really looking forward to that. 56:14 I know the players are as well. 56:17 They got to take care of business first this weekend. 56:19 Yes. 56:20 But it speeds up really quick. 56:23 This season, the Gophers don't play a soft schedule. 56:27 You may look at Bemidji and St. 56:29 Thomas as maybe being an easy start, but it gets it gets busy real quick. 56:33 So I can't wait. 56:35 I can't wait either. 56:37 You got anything else for us this week, Veegs? 56:38 I think we've covered a lot of it here. 56:40 We're going to have Derek come back, hopefully, here in a bit. 56:43 Yeah, I think just fans look for the Gopher Power Play. 56:47 How hard do they work for second chances? 56:50 I talked about that in the podcast last week. 56:53 And of course, Sunday, Bob mentioned, did you notice on the Power Play, Garrett Pinomini and Connor Kurth winning back second chances on the Power Play? 57:02 So critical for this team to have guys with that kind of hunger. 57:05 They relied on Matthew Nyes and Logan Cooley so much for that last year. 57:09 This year, who's it going to be? 57:14 I don't know if it's going to be Kurth and Pinot every week, but they need to have guys with that kind of attitude. 57:19 And that's the point of emphasis coming from the coaching staff with this group. 57:23 As I've noticed, Gopher Power Plays aren't always tic-tac-toe. 57:27 They are often fast, creating chaos, and capitalizing from the other team that can't keep up. 57:34 That's one of Bob's big things. 57:36 And for this team, to hit that peak, their ceiling, they need a power play that's over 25%, I think. 57:45 This is a team that can get to three, can get to four, but having a good power play is going to be a big part of that. 57:51 Well, there it is, folks. 57:54 The season's starting. 57:55 That's the best part. 57:56 You know, we kind of started last weekend with a little exhibition, but now it's for reals. 58:02 Let's go. 58:04 Now that the twins are done. 58:05 Oh, that you could just see it coming, Veegs. 58:08 Sorry, you just, it was, I know, there it is. 58:11 World Champion. 58:12 War of the Vintage, 87. 58:16 A lot of positives, though. 58:17 A lot of positives. 58:20 It's tough. 58:21 It's tough for us older people who grew up, you know, for 80, 87 and 91. 58:24 So it's tough. 58:26 Well, that's going to do it for this episode of the GPL podcast. 58:30 I definitely thank Derek Burns from Dinkytown Athletes for joining us. 58:35 And of course, next week, we'll be back on Thursday at 7 p.m. 58:40 live from Ralph Engelstedt Arena. 58:44 Should be just a fun show. 58:46 For those of you watching live right now, stay tuned for some overtime. 58:49 For the rest of you, we'll see you next week at the Ralph.